A man has killed himself inside the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris in the French capital, causing its evacuation.
The man pulled out a shotgun and shot himself through the mouth beside the main altar in front of some 1,500 people, BBC reports.
He was later named by police as 78-year-old Dominique Venner, an award-winning far-right historian.
Mr Venner had recently been involved in the campaign against the government’s decision to legalise gay marriage.
France’s far-right party leader Marine Le Pen has paid tribute to the man who killed himself in the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, saying it was a “political act”.
Ms Le Pen, who heads the National Front, said it was aimed at “waking up the people of France”.
